promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed,

for ever. Song of the blessed Virgin Mary.

LITANY.

From pride and vain-glory; from false doctrine, heresy, and schism; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,

Good Lord, deliver us.

By the mystery of thy holy Incarnation,
Good Lord, deliver us.

LESSONS.

Ecclus. ii., iii. John xii. 2 Tim. iii. Many are in high place, and of renown: but mysteries are revealed unto the meek. For the power of the Lord is great, and he is honoured of the lowly. Seek not out the things that are too hard for thee, neither search the things that are above thy strength. But what is commanded thee, think thereupon with reverence; for it is not needful for thee to see with thine eyes the things that are in secret.-Ecclus. iii.

Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world but to save the world. He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him : the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.-St. John xii.

As Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth; men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.-2 Tim. iii.

FOR THE EPISTLE.

The Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.-Isaiah vii.

THE GOSPEL.

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a Virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the Virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren; for with God nothing shall be

impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.-St. Luke i.

ACCOUNT OF THE DAY.

This is one of those festivals which are of later date; for, though its origin may have been somewhat earlier, we have no certain account of it before the seventh century. The Church has, however, in retaining it, looked more to the importance of its doctrines, than to the antiquity of the festival. The Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary means the declaration made to her by the Angel Gabriel, that she should be the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ: and on this day we celebrate His Incarnation; that is, how He, the Eternal God himself, took flesh in her womb, and thus conferred upon her a high dignity, such as never belonged to any other person of our race.

THE INCARNATION.

THE BIBLE.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." St. John i.

See also, St. Mark xiv. St. John iii., vi., x., xiii., xvi., xvii., xx. Acts xx. Rom. viii., ix. Eph. Heb. i., ii., iv.

iii.

Phil. ii. Col. i.

1st John

THE PRAYER-BOOK.

"It is necessary to everlasting salvation, that we believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess; that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the substance of his Mother, born in the world; perfect God, and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting; equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead, and inferior to the Father, as touching his Manhood. Who although he be God and Man, yet he is not two, but one Christ: one; not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the Manhood into God: one altogether; not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person: for as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ."-Athanasian Creed.

“The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance: so that two whole and perfect Natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man; who truly suffered, was crucified, dead and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men."Article ii.

It will be seen, by comparing the above Creed and Article, that our Church has chosen to give a

summary of the former, as the best way of stating the doctrine of our Lord's Incarnation. It is also very plainly laid down in the Nicene Creed, which we use every Sunday; and, although the growth of heresy had not required so full a statement in the simple Creeds of the primitive Church, we know by the early Fathers, that they were understood in the same way. Accordingly it may be proved, as is said in the eighth Article, "by most certain warrant of Holy Scripture."

NECESSITY OF THE DOCTRINE.

"The necessity of our salvation did require such a Mediator and Saviour, as under one person should be a partaker of both natures; it was requisite he should be man, it was also requisite he should be God. For as the transgression came by man, so it was meet the satisfaction should be made by man: and because death, according to St. Paul, is the just stipend and reward of sin, therefore to appease the wrath of God, and to satisfy His justice, it was expedient that our Mediator should be such a one, as might take upon him the sins of mankind, and sustain the due punishment thereof, namely death.

"But because no creature, in that he is only a creature, hath or may have power to destroy death, and give life; to overcome hell, and purchase heaven; to remit sins, and give righteousness; therefore it was needful that our Messias, whose proper duty and office that was, should be not only full and perfect man, but also full and perfect God, to the intent he might more fully and perfectly make satisfaction for mankind.”—Homily. This doctrine is the foundation upon which the